Tripartite Meeting in Kunming: Bangladesh Declines Proposal to Form Joint Working Group

On June 19, an informal tripartite meeting was held in Kunming, China, involving representatives from Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan.Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan agreed to strengthen cooperation in various sectors. However, during the foreign secretary-level meeting last Thursday, when the formation of a Joint Working Group (JWG) was proposed to implement tripartite cooperation, Bangladesh declined to agree.According to diplomatic sources, following the meeting, China proposed issuing a joint press statement. Bangladesh also rejected this proposal. It was then decided that China and Pakistan would issue separate statements. Bangladesh requested to see the draft of the statements before they were published. Bangladesh expressed disagreement with multiple aspects of the drafts, most notably objecting to the mention of the Joint Working Group. Despite Bangladesh’s objections, China released its statement last Friday. Pakistan did not share its draft with Bangladesh before publication.During the discussions, Bangladesh clearly stated that the delegation did not have the mandate to make a decision regarding the formation of a JWG. Final approval on this matter would need to come from higher authorities.Pakistan’s press statement referred to the meeting as the “first meeting of the Bangladesh-China-Pakistan trilateral framework.” This raised questions about whether a new alliance was being formed among the three countries, or if China was taking the initiative to form one. In response, Bangladeshi officials clarified that the country did not agree to form a JWG during the Kunming meeting. The discussion focused mainly on exploring possible avenues for trilateral cooperation in different sectors, and no decision was made regarding the formation of an alliance.Diplomatic sources also revealed that during the meeting, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch suggested that the JWG should be held at the joint secretary level. While delivering her remarks via video link, she also proposed that the first JWG meeting be held in Islamabad. However, since Bangladesh did not agree to the formation of the JWG, no progress was made on that front.It was reported that China had invited Bangladesh to the Kunming meeting in mid-May. Bangladesh was initially hesitant to participate, as China had not clearly outlined the objectives of the meeting at the time.Several former and current diplomats believe that it would have been better for Bangladesh to avoid last Thursday’s foreign secretary-level meeting in Kunming. There are various concerns and questions regarding the aims and objectives of this initiative.Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh’s Acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique, and Pakistan’s Additional Secretary Imran Ahmed Siddiqui represented their respective countries at the meeting. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch joined via video link.